Rose Riot: Melvins Photo Shoot

By Rose Riot (All photos by Rose Riot)Slow and heavy wins the race for the Melvins. The Melvins started off as a slow and dirty three-piece in 1983. Currently, with the addition of a second drummer, the band head count is four. The band is touring its latest release Freak Puke. The Melvin’s show on April 25, at The Loft in Atlanta, was the second rock show I had shot in three days…

The first was Rammstein. My first thought upon arrival at The Loft was, “This is exactly the opposite of my Rammstein shoot.” Rammstein was in a huge arena, wide photo pit with security escorts, bells n’ whistles and some question as to whether the band was actually performing live…

The Melvins’ shoot was in a small music hall, no photo pit, just me and a bunch of sweaty dudes pushed up against barricade, the only bells n’ whistles were all the crazy attachments to the drum kits and no doubt, this was live music. Buzzo looked like a combination of a monk and a deranged clown playing guitar. Jared Warren and his bass were tucked away in a shadow towards the back of the stage and the center piece of the performance both physically and musically was the two Suess-like drums kits that contained Coady Willis and Dale Crover inside them.

The music was enveloping with its loudness and suffocating with its crowd turn out. The percussion took the crowd on an tight and precise thrill ride. The drummers played like savant-conjoined twins and every time they did something truly amazing and righteous, the crowd would ooh and ahh much like they were on a roller coaster.

It was one of those shows that wipes away all care of the world and reality when you are there, you leave with a new perspective and possibly a better person. Thank you Melvins for the therapy session.